“So, you got me a cat who reminds you of me,” Thad repeated with a lift of his eyebrow.
“Uhh yeah?” Graham suddenly looked uneasy.
Thad cradled the kitten against his chest and rose to his feet, deciding to put his boyfriend out of his misery. He carried her over to Graham, then pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thanks.”
Graham blinked. “You’re … okay with it? Because if you’re not, she can live with me, and you can have visitation. I wasn’t sure if you could have pets at your place or not.”
“I’m neveratmy place anymore anyway,” Thad reminded him.
Graham swallowed. “Yeah, about that?”
“What about it?” Thad lifted his eyebrows.
“I was thinkingyouandthecatcouldmoveinwithme.”
Thad blinked. “Try again but slower. I would swear you said I could move in with you.”
“And the cat,” Graham offered, reaching out to pet her.
“Can’t forget the cat,” Thad muttered, briefly glancing down.
She meowed.Loudly.
Graham’s expression turned uneasy.
“Sorry. This is probably a lot. I probably fucked this up big time. I’ve … I’ve never wantedanyoneto move in with me, and I thought about getting her, then I thought about you and me and the cat and Murphy and …” He took a deep breath. “Iwantthat. And if it’s too soon or you’re not ready, that’s fine. I know you—you might need some time to adjust to the idea. But if you want it, the offer’s open whenever you’re ready. And if you aren’t ever ready for it, we can talk about that too.”
Thad thought about all the reasons why it probablywastoo soon and why he wasn’t the easiest guy to live with and that he’d probably fuck this all up somehow, then he thought about how far he’d come in the past year and a half since he got hired by the Harriers.
And frankly, he wanted it anyway, because he could picture that life.
He could see Graham sitting cross-legged on the couch wrapped up in a throw blanket with Murphy perched next to him as they watched TV. Thad sprawled out nearby with the cat draped over his chest.
He could see Graham setting out plates while Thad cooked and the dog barked and the cat tried to climb up Thad’s leg like she’d done during the photoshoot earlier.
He could picture the four of them sprawled on the bed taking a nap.
And it was … fuck, it wastempting.
The thought scared Thad shitless for a moment because what if hedidfuck it up? What if he wasn’t ready for it? Even though he was forty-two and still didn’t have his shit together.
But … maybe hedidnow? Maybe this was thestartof him having his shit together. A great job, a boyfriend he lived with, a cat … maybe a real fucking life wasn’t so far out of reach.
Maybe this was Thad’s shot at finally having the kind of comfortable life he’d thought had passed him by.
He’d never be an NHL player. He couldn’t erase the years in prison.
But he did belong here in Boston.
Belonged here with his brother’s organization.
With Graham and his stupid dog and a cat who’d probably never give Thad a day’s peace in his life. Maybe he could wake up to them every day and it would be enough.
It would be good. He could behappy.
“Yeah,” Thad said roughly, cutting off whatever Graham was still rambling about. “Yeah. Let’s do it. Let’s adopt this little shit and live together.”
“Yeah?” Graham’s face lit up. “You mean it?”
